The U.S. Permanent Delegation to the United Nations Office in Geneva informed the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights that the United States will not participate in the fourth round of the U.S. human rights review of the United Nations Human Rights Council, scheduled for November 6.

Ravenna Shamdasani, UNHCR spokeswoman, confirmed the news on the same day. She said the UNHCR regretted the U.S. decision not to participate in this important review process involving all UN member states. The UNHCR will continue to communicate on human rights issues with the U.S. government, civil society, academia and business.

Country-specific human rights review, also known as universal periodic review, is an important platform for countries to conduct equal and frank exchanges, constructive dialogue and cooperation on human rights issues within the framework of the United Nations. The United Nations Human Rights Council established this mechanism in June 2007, aiming at regularly reviewing the implementation of human rights obligations and commitments by all countries. Since the launch of the first round of review in 2008, 193 member states of the United Nations have undergone three rounds of review, and the fourth round of review will begin in 2022.

During the third round, representatives of 116 countries, together with relevant UN agencies and non-governmental organizations, submitted 347 critical recommendations for improvements to the human rights situation in the United States in various forms. The relevant countries generally urged the United States to eliminate all forms of discrimination based on race, religion and gender, fight hate speech and religious intolerance; reform the judiciary to eliminate police violence; change the policy of isolating migrant children from their parents and guaranteeing immigration rights; fight human trafficking; as soon as possible ratify international human rights conventions such as the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabil